chmod 261 Permission Explained

Notice: This is an unusual permission set: some classes have more access than the class above them. It is rarely correct in practice.

Octal

261

Symbolic

-w-rw---x

Binary

010 110 001

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 261 gives the owner write, the group read/write, and everyone else execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				2
Group (g)				6
Others (o)				1

setuid (4) setgid (2) sticky bit (1)

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

261

-w-rw---x

Owner: write · Group: read/write · Others: execute

chmod 261 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 261 guide →

chmod 261 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`2`	`-w-`	Write only (rarely useful)	No practical effect without x
Group (g)	`6`	`rw-`	Read and write	Can list names, cannot enter
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 261 Safe?

Moderate

Every member of the group can modify this file.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

261 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 660.

chmod 261 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 261 filename

# Apply using equivalent symbolic mode
chmod u=w,g=rw,o=x filename

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 261 /path/to/dir
# Note: -R applies the same mode to files and directories. Use find to treat them separately:
find /path/to/dir -type f -exec chmod 261 {} +

# Verify permissions
stat -c '%a %A %n' filename    # Linux
stat -f '%Lp %Sp %N' filename   # macOS

# Example ls -l output:
--w-rw---x 1 alice staff 1024 Jan 15 10:00 example.txt

umask Relationship

A umask of 516 makes new directories 261. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 261 mean?

chmod 261 gives the owner write, the group read/write, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 2 (write), the group receives 6 (read/write), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 261 safe?

chmod 261 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 261 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 261 is represented as -w-rw---x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=w,g=rw,o=x filename".

Related Permissions

Change one bit:

chmod 661 add owner read chmod 061 remove owner write chmod 361 add owner execute chmod 221 remove group read chmod 241 remove group write chmod 271 add group execute chmod 265 add others read chmod 263 add others write chmod 260 remove others execute

← chmod 260 chmod 262 →

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